Education

Research Interests

I. Dinosaur Evolution and the Fossil Record
I am particularly interested in large-scale evolutionary patterns within the Dinosauria. This diverse, long-lived vertebrate group (even excluding avian members) dominated terrestrial habitats worldwide from the Late Triassic through to the end of the Cretaceous. Thus they provide an interesting and instructive parallel for the Cenozoic radiation of mammals, permitting exploration of such evolutionary patterns as Cope's Rule (increasing body size), the cursorial-graviportal locomotor gradient, and biogeographic scenarios associated with continental fragmentation. My work focuses on using dinosaur phylogeny to track these evolutionary changes, both throughout the group and within specific clades (e.g., sauropods). Numerous similarities between mammalian and dinosaurian patterns are evident, particularly with regard to size and locomotion, but exceptions highlight potentially important biological differences between these two major clades. I also integrate information from the vast dinosaur ichnological record into these studies.

Associated with this work, I participate in the Vertebrate Paleontology Working Group, which is assembling the vertebrate component of the Paleobiology Database (PBDB). The PBDB will ultimately provide full internet access to all published vertebrate fossil localities for any researcher worldwide. Because the database also includes records of marine invertebrates, taphonomy, and fossil plants, it holds great potential for the exploration of innumerable macroevolutionary patterns. To date, more than 4000 dinosaur-bearing localities have been entered into the PBDB, which can be analyzed and downloaded by any visitor or researcher. This dataset has allowed me to study and quantify many aspects of the dinosaur fossil record in detail, including the groupâ€™s diversity and geographic history, as well as the effects of sampling biases.

Collaborators: John Alroy and the Vertebrate Paleontology Working Group (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, CA); Jeffrey Wilson (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

II. Dinosaur Phylogeny and Exploration
Currently I am completing a major reevaluation of the phylogeny of basal (non-coelurosaur) theropods, with an emphasis on the relationships of ceratosaurs. This work is based on first-hand observations of nearly all basal theropod specimens worldwide, and provides an opportunity to employ a variety of additional data (including stratigraphic) in testing the robustness of the theropod tree. In addition, the diversity and temporal longevity of ceratosaurs affords them relevance for understanding biogeographic and other trends in dinosaur evolution.

III. Functional Morphology and Locomotion
I have a longstanding interest in the functional morphology and biomechanics of vertebrate locomotion. In the past, I used experimental data gathered from extant birds and mammals to draw conclusions about locomotor habits in extinct vertebrates, particularly dinosaurs. This included a reappraisal of the role of torsion in vertebrate limbs, as well as a new and more explicit evaluation of the relationship between limb morphology and locomotor habit. In summary, data from extant taxa suggest that most dinosaurs were broadly similar in general locomotor habit, and that the unique hindlimb locomotor system seen in modern birds probably evolved after the origin of flight, in conjunction with a major reduction in body size. Similarities in macroevolutionary patterns of locomotor morphology between dinosaurs and mammals may shed light on the underlying selective pressures driving these trends.

Recently, I have collaborated on more disparate functional projects. These included finite-element analyses of the mechanics and morphology of dinosaur phalanges, and phylogenetic and morphometric studies of locomotor evolution in plesiosaurs.

Burch, Sara H. and Carrano, Matthew T. 2012.
An Articulated Pectoral Girdle and Forelimb of the Abelisaurid Theropod Majungasaurus Crenatissimus from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 32(1):1-16